Broken Pieces
by Darke-Angyl
Summary: Cassidy McIntyre was alone and scared, doing everything she could to save her Momma only to have her world fall apart. Jane/Josh (two BDS OC's from Rum Tum Trager) Connor/Rebecca Murphy/Emily This fan fiction is being co-written with Rum Tum Trager.
1. Chapter 1

Cassidy McIntyre groaned as she rolled over inside the box that her and her mother, Charlotte, had been sleeping in for the past four years. Her mother had told her that her father had died, but she still dreamed of him sometimes. It was always the same... her father turning his back on her and her mother and walking out their front door.

Cassidy reached out to brush some of the hair back from her mother's face. "You're so cold, Momma," she whispered. "I know you wouldn't let me get help for you before, but you really need it now. I'm not going to take no for an answer. I'm going to go find some things I can sell to get you something to eat and drink... and hopefully some better clothes." She leaned over and kissed her mother's forehead, making a face at the coldness of it and frowning when her mother didn't react to her at all, before climbing out of the box and hurrying through the streets.

INSIDE THE MANSION

Josh Frohmeyer hummed to himself as he walked down the stairs of the Macmanus Mansion. His girlfriend, Jane, was still asleep. He figured the least he could do was make breakfast for her to wake up to. He walked into the kitchen, still a little overwhelmed at the size of it. The mansion belonged to his ex-girlfriend, Emily, and her family. He stepped over the the refrigerator and took out the package of bacon before grabbing a skillet to cook it in. Walking over to the stove, he turned the burner on before putting five slices of bacon in the skillet, whistling as he worked.

OUTSIDE

Cassidy's mouth fell open as she stood at the end of a long driveway and stared up at a house bigger than any she had ever seen before. She knew there had to be something inside that place that she could take to a pawn shop and get some fast cash for. She had to help her mother. She ran down the driveway, the concrete burning the bottom of her feet through the holes in the bottom of her sneakers. She wasn't wearing any socks, and the clothes she had on were dirty and ratty. She couldn't remember the last time she had been able to take a proper bath or wash her hair.

Cassidy walked carefully through the grass, going around the mansion until she spotted a ladder braced against the back of it. She grinned, quickly climbing up to one of the upper windows. She broke the window with a well placed kick, almost losing her balance and ending up falling through the window to keep herself from falling off the ladder onto the ground below. She groaned as she started pushing herself to her feet, moving as quickly as she could over to the dresser where she could see all kinds of jewelry and knick knacks.

Cassidy's blood dripped all over the carpet and the top of the dresser as she began grabbing things and stuffing them into the fanny pack she had strapped around her hips. There was glass sticking out of several different places on her arms, legs, chest, and face. She swayed slightly on her feet, already beginning to feel dizzy from the blood loss since it had been so many days since she had had anything to eat or drink.

DOWNSTAIRS

Josh looked up in shock when he heard the sound of glass breaking upstairs. Worried that it was Jane, he abandoned the bacon and rushed up the stairs. He looked confused as he followed the sounds to Rebecca's and Connor's room, throwing open the door and yelling when he noticed a young girl stealing Rebecca's jewelry. "STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Cassidy turned around and looked at the man in shock, falling to her knees. She opened her mouth to say something, but fell over instead, reaching weakly toward the window.

Josh spotted the blood that had dropped onto the carpet and top of the dresser, noticing that the girl had several deep cuts over her body with more than a few pieces of glass sticking out of her. He also noticed how ratty her clothes were and that she looked like she hadn't bathed in a while. He walked over and knelt down beside her, grabbing the fanny pack that had the stolen jewelry in it. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

Cassidy looked up at him, again opening her mouth to try to speak but too weak to do so. She tried to push herself up but fell back down again, giving a weak groan. Moments later, she passed out cold as she continued to bleed over the carpet.

Josh snarled as the teenage girl passed out. He pulled off his shirt and wrapped it around one of the deeper cuts before scooping her into his arms. He carried her down the hall to the special room that the family had set up for medical emergencies. Putting her on the bed, he grabbed the emergency cell phone off the bed side table and called Simon to explain what had happened.

'Work on getting as much of the glass out of her body as you can. I'll be there as soon as I can get to the car and drive over,' Dr. Simon Tam instructed him.

"Hurry," Josh responded before hanging up the phone and looking around for a pair of tweezers. He exclaimed in triumph when he found a pair and looked over at the teenager. He shook his head. She didn't look like she was a day over thirteen, and she was so thin. He assumed that she hadn't eaten in days. Sighing, he stretched out carefully on the bed beside her and began getting the glass out of her wounds.

Simon stepped into the medical room less than half an hour later and began examining the young girl. "How long has she been unconscious?" he asked as he took her vital signs. As he waited for Josh to speak, he began cleaning her wounds and stitching up the deeper ones. "Grab one of the hospital gowns out of the second drawer. These clothes aren't good for anything but the trash bin."

Josh nodded. He retrieved the hospital gown and handed it to Simon. "Almost an hour. I caught her stealing some of Beck's jewelry." He reached out and brushed some of the hair back from her face. "She's gotta be homeless or something." He looked up at Simon. "How old do you think she is?"

Simon finished cutting off the girl's clothes, making sure she stayed covered with the hospital gown and then tying the gown around her neck so that it would stay on. He carefully pulled her up into a sitting position, motioning for Josh to tie the straps on the back. Laying her back down, he studied her carefully and hooked up an IV while he answered. "I would guess anywhere from twelve to fourteen, possibly as old as fifteen. I doubt if she's any older than that, but it's hard to tell as malnourished as she is."

Josh shook his head, sighing as he watched Simon take care of the girl. The sight of her tugged at his heart, and he knew that he had to help her. "Poor kid," he murmured. "No one should have to go through something like this, especially a young kid like her."

Simon nodded his agreement. "She probably had a reason for trying to take Becca's jewelry. Did you get a chance to ask her about it before she passed out?"

Cassidy began to stir, groaning softly. "Momma..." She whimpered as she began to move around.

Josh sighed. "I never got a chance to. She passed out before I could ask her."

Simon nodded, glancing down when the girl began to stir. "It looks like she's coming around..."

Cassidy's eyes slowly opened, widening in fear when she found herself in unfamiliar surroundings. She immediately began to try to sit up, ignoring her own pain as she moved. She had to get back to her mother. She had to make sure her mother was okay.

"Shh..." Simon whispered in a soothing voice. "My name is Dr. Simon Tam. Joshua here told me he caught you trying to steal jewelry from his friends. Why'd you do it?"

Cassidy tried to push past the doctor. "I need to get back to Momma. She's sick. I needed money to get her food and something to drink."

"You're not going anywhere, kid," Josh insisted, snarling at her. "You're injured, and when Beck gets home you're gonna apologize to her for trying to steal her stuff." He put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back onto the bed.

"No!" Cassidy shouted, fighting against him. "I have to go check on Momma! She's really sick!" She starts coughing, choking and groaning in pain. "You have to let me go check on her!"

"I can go check on her," Josh said, squeezing the girl's hand. "Just tell me your name and where to go. I promise I'll make sure she's okay." He gave her a soft smile. "I'll even bring her back here so Dr. Tam can look after her, too."

Cassidy sighed as her coughing fit eased up, looking down in shame. "We live in the large cardboard box behind the empty building that used to be Stack and Save. My name's Cassidy."

"Cassidy," Josh responded softly. "Well, I'm Josh, but you can call me Scud. Everyone else does." He shrugged his shoulders and grinned at her. "I'll go find your mom. You. Stay. Here." He gave her a stern look before turning and leaving the room, letting Dr. Tam deal with whatever fit she threw.


	2. Chapter 2

Josh's eyes focused on every street sign as he drove his trust black Cadillac through South Boston to his destination. As soon as he had gotten to his car, he had realized that he really didn't know the city very well. A quick call to Simon had remedied the situation, and he had the directions that the good doctor had given him playing over and over again in his head. He sighed with relief when he finally spotted the building. He parked his car and slowly got out, locking the doors before he headed for the alley that ran along the side of the building. He wrinkled his nose after he had only gone a few feet down. Something putrid smelling seemed to be rotting very close to him. "Jesus Christ," he muttered under his breath. "What died?" He spotted the cardboard box and headed for it.

IN THE MEDICAL ROOM

Cassidy fidgeted on the bed, unable to get comfortable and feeling more than a little nervous. "Will that man really bring my Momma here?" she asked Dr. Tam. She shifted slightly, hissing out a breath.

Simon nodded. "I'm sure he will. Josh is a very helpful man. He helped one of the women who live here through a really rough patch so you can be sure if he says he'll do it, he will find a way to get it done."

Cassidy nodded and relaxed a little. A part of her wanted to ask for something to drink or eat, because she was starving and hadn't had anything in a really long time... but there was a more prominent part of her that forced herself to stay quiet. Her Momma was the one who was sick. She wouldn't eat or drink anything until her Momma was safe and taken care of.

IN THE ALLEY

Josh held his breath as he walked toward the cardboard box, peeking inside and finding the body of an extremely frail woman who appeared to be in her late thirties or early forties. "Eeesh," he muttered. "You must be the kid's mom." From all appearances, the woman had been dead for a while, but he knew that Cassidy was either in denial or unaware of her mother's true condition. He groaned, leaning over and scooping the body into his arms. He carried the woman's corpse to his car and laid it across his back seat before sliding behind the wheel. He rolled every one of his windows down as he headed back toward the manor, calling Simon as he drove.

"Are you sure?" Simon asked, his heart clenching at the news. He glanced over at Cassidy, who had finally fallen back to sleep, and sighed. "Get her here, and we'll do what we can to help the girl."

Josh nodded, even though he knew that Simon couldn't see him. "The lady's ice cold, and she reeks," he answered. "I'm almost there. See you soon." He hung up the phone before Simon could say anything else and turned onto the long drive that led up to the mansion. Moments later, he was parking his Cadillac in the garage next to Jane's Hummer. He patted Viper's hood after getting out before moving to the back seat of the car. He tried not to hurl as he lifted the woman's dead body into his arms.

INSIDE THE HOUSE

Simon paced the floor at the end of the bed as he waited for Josh to come back with the body, trying to decide the best way to handle the situation. If the few moments the girl had been conscious earlier had given him any indication at all, it was that she was not going to be able to accept the fact that her mother was dead. This was a situation that needed to be handled with great care, and he desperately wished one of the women that lived in the house was there to help them deal with it.

Josh groaned as he carried the woman's body up the stairs and into the medical bedroom. He looked over at Simon, his normally clear eyes dull. "How are we gonna breath this to her? She's in no condition to be able to deal with something like this."

Simon nodded as he studied the woman's body. "It looks like she died sometime yesterday, but I can't be certain without a medical examiner doing an autopsy on her." He pulled out his cell phone. "Lay her on the floor for now and open the windows. I'm gonna have a friend of mine come pick her up. He owns his own funeral parlor. He can clean her up and get her presentable for her daughter to be able to see her when the time's right."

Josh nodded and slowly lowered the woman to the floor. He straightened back up and glanced over at Cassidy, his heart heavy. He knew that he'd be in the same boat she was if this was his mother, father, or even one of his two sisters. Jessica and Jenna meant everything to him. He looked over at Simon, chewing his lip as the girl began to stir around again.

Simon moved quickly, deftly filling a syringe with a dose of medicine and delivering it to the girl's upper arm. He breathed a sigh of relief when she settled down again, glancing over at Josh. "I sedated her. I don't want her to wake up until after her mother is gone."

Josh nodded, understanding why Simon had done it. "How the hell are we gonna break it to her?" he asked. "I mean... She doesn't know her mom is dead, and I've never broken any kind of news to anyone... especially someone so young. What are you supposed to say?"

Simon sat down on the edge of the bed. "It's never easy, that's for sure." He re-adjusted the covers over the girl. "The best thing to do is to start by explaining that her mother was very sick and that her body just didn't have the strength to fight off the illness."

Josh shook his head. "What if she pitches a fit?" he asked. "What do we do then?"

"You'll have to try to calm her down the best you can," Simon answered. "I'll be right here with you, and I can sedate her again if need be."

Josh nodded his head, turning around when someone knocks on the door. He smiled when he noticed the familiar head of black hair. "I thought you were sleeping, babe," he said, reaching out and pulling her into the room with them.

Jane laughed softly. "I woke up and saw you weren't in the bed with me," she replied. "I found the bacon disintegrating on the stove. I got worried and started searching the mansion." She wrinkled her nose. "I noticed a putrid smell and followed it up here. What the hell is going on?"

"Josh stopped a thief," Simon answered. "I'll let him explain." He heard the doorbell ring. "That's my friend. We'll take Momma here with us."

Josh sighed as Simon and his friend picked up the woman's body and carried her out of the room. "The girl on the bed broke into the mansion," he explained. "She tried to steal some of Beck's jewelry to get money for food and stuff for her and her Momma. She said her Momma was sick, so I went to check on the woman." He sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "Turns out Momma's dead. Simon sedated the girl so she wouldn't wake up until after he and his friend could get her Momma's body out of here. They're gonna do an autopsy on her and then get her ready for a funeral."

Jane's eyes softened and moistened with tears. "How old is she?" she asked.

"Simon says it's impossible to know for sure, because of how malnourished she is. She could be as young as twelve or as old as fifteen." Josh moved closer to the bed when the girl began to stir again. He took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Her name is Cassidy."


	3. Chapter 3

Jane shook her head, unable to take her eyes off of the young girl's face. There were so many cuts on her. "Poor thing," she whispered. "How are we supposed to break the news to her? And where'd she get all of those cuts?"

"I heard glass breaking, and the window in Connor's and Beck's room is broken," Josh explained. "I'm assuming she fell through it when she was trying to break in. "That gardener they hired left the ladder propped against the back of the mansion when he was finished cleaning out the rain gutters yesterday." He rubbed the back of his head. "Simon says to start by explaining that her Momma was really sick and just too weak to fight off the infection. I think we need to get Beck or Em in here, because he said to sedate her again if she starts freaking out too much. I don't know how to do that."

Jane nodded. "Emily should be home soon from visiting their mom, but I'm not sure where Rebecca is."

Josh sighed. "Should I call one of them?" he asked.

Jane glanced back at the girl as she began to stir. "That might be a good idea," she replied, nodding her head.

Josh nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his cell phone. He dialed Emily's number and held his breath while he waited for her to pick up the other end. He breathed a sigh of relief when she did.

"Hello?" Emily's voice came through the phone.

"Em," Josh replied. "We need your help."

"My help with what?" Emily questioned.

Josh sighed again, looking over at Cassidy and keeping his voice low as he responded. "We had a break in..."

Emily gasped in horror, interrupting him. "A break in?!" she exclaimed. "JOSH! What the fuck happened?!"

"Relax, Em," Josh said, keeping his voice soft and low. He winced as Cassidy groaned softly and began stirring more on the bed. He quickly explained the situation as briefly as he could. "Please. Just come home soon in case she has to be sedated again."

"Okay," Emily agreed. "I'll be there as soon as I can be."

"Just hurry." Josh hung up the phone and slipped it back into his pocket, chewing his lips when Cassidy's eyes began to flutter. He wrapped his arms around Jane and rested his chin on her shoulder, never taking his eyes off of the young girl on the bed. "I hate situations like this," he commented in a whisper. "So much..."

Jane turned in Josh's arms and cupped his face between the palms of her hands. "I know you do, baby. I'm here with you. We'll handle whatever happens together, like we always do."

Josh nodded, leaning down and pressing his forehead against hers. "Always," he agreed softly. He let his hands fall to her hips and pulled her closer.

Jane smiled. "I love you, my Rugged Rebel," she said softly. She kissed his gently, pulling back to look deep into his eyes. "We can do this." She glanced over at Cassidy. "You are gonna be so amazing with her."

Cassidy groaned, the room slowly going in and out of focus as she struggled to wake up. "Momma?" she questioned weakly. "I don't feel so good, Momma..."

Josh hissed out a breath. "What are we supposed to do?!" he questioned Jane in a fierce whisper. "Em's not here yet!"

Jane sighed. "We'll have to stall her," she answered. "Follow my lead." She grabbed his hands and led him over to the side of the bed, lowering her voice to try to make herself sound older. "Cassidy... What are you doing up already, honey?"

Cassidy turned her head toward the sound of the voice. "Momma? You sound funny..." She tried to open her eyes, but it felt like they were glued together. "What's wrong with me Momma? Are you feeling better?"

"I'm just a little under the weather, baby," Jane explained, using her disguised voice. "I'll be okay. You just go back to sleep and get some more rest, okay? I love you." She glanced over at Josh, her eyes full of worry.

Cassidy nodded weakly and reached for her. "Stay with me, Momma. Please..."

Jane nodded, squeezing the girl's hand. "I'll be right here, I promise," she whispered. She glanced over at Josh, tears falling down her cheeks.

Josh clenched his jaw as he watched Jane. He looked up when he heard someone walk in, sighing in relief when he saw that it was Emily. "Just in time," he told her quietly. "She's starting to wake up. Jane's got her quiet for now."

Emily nodded. "I drove here as fast as I could," she responded quietly, studying the young girl. "What's going on?"

Josh rubbed the back of her head. "We're about to have to let Cassidy know that her Momma is dead," Josh explained, looking over at Emily with dull eyes. "The way she was freaking about about her Momma being sick earlier, I don't think she's gonna take the news very well."

Emily nodded somberly, remembering the way her and her family had freaked out the night that they had sat watching her father die in the hospital. She grabbed a fresh syringe and fixed up a dose of the sedative Simon had left on the bedside table, waiting for the moment when the little girl woke up completely "I already know this isn't going to go well," she whispered, watching intently.

Jane nodded, using one hand to wipe the tears off of her cheeks. She leaned over and kissed the little girl's temple as she began to wake up again. "Here we go," she whispered as the girl opened her eyes.

Josh hissed a breath through his teeth as he reached for Jane and wrapped his arms tight around her, looking down at Cassidy. "How do you feel?" he asked her softly, his eyes full of concern.

Cassidy's voice was extremely hoarse and weak from the lack of food or drink. "Sore." She looked around. "Who're they? Where's my Momma? You said you'd go get her. Where'd that doctor man go?"

Jane sighed. "I'm Jane, sweetie. I'm Josh's girlfriend. Josh went and got your Momma." She swallowed hard, reaching out and brushing some of the hair back from the girl's face. "Dr. Tam looked her over, but her body was too weak to fight off the infection she had." She looked over as Emily inched closer, shaking her head before looking back at Cassidy. "She's dead, honey."

"No!" Cassidy shouted, coughing as she looked from Jane to Josh and back again, no longer noticing Emily. "She was here! She held me while I was sleeping! She talked to me!"

"That was me," Jane replied softly. "I disguised my voice to try to stall you for a bit while Simon and his friend took your Momma's body away."

"You're lying!" Cassidy screamed, twisting on the bed in an attempt to get up.

Josh took a deep breath and grabbed Cassidy's shoulders, pushing them down toward the bed to keep her from being able to get up. "Calm down, Cassidy. We're not lying to you."

Jane choked back tears as she remembered the way she had reacted when her father had told her that her mother had died. "Cassidy, please... We're not lying. We're only trying to help you."

Cassidy kept fighting, shaking her head, not wanting to believe that her mother was dead, not after everything the two of them had been through together.

Emily sighed. She had seen more than enough. She slipped herself under Josh's arm and quickly delivered the dose of sedative to the teenager, breathing easier as the girl stopped struggling and fell back into a deep sleep.


End file.
